Overweight people seen as 'more American' - study

Researchers have found that Americans are no longer identified by their race or ancestry, but their weight.

A new University of Washington study concluded overweight Asian-Americans are often assumed to be US citizens, and their thinner counterparts immigrants.

A total of 1000 students were shown pictures of different races and asked to guess their country of residence. Some of the photos were digitally altered to make the person appear overweight.

The results showed larger Asian people were "significantly more likely" to be assumed American.

"In the US, there is a strong bias associating American identity with whiteness, and this can have negative consequences for people of colour," study author Caitlin Handron told the Washington Post.

Statistically speaking, it is true that obesity is common in America. According to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 70 percent of US adults are overweight or obese. Asian immigrants are also significantly less likely to be overweight than native-born Asian-Americans.